


Everyone is gone

by theredemptionarch



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: M/M, and Archie is there for him, and Kevin is sad, i am sad, mentions of Joavin and Kangs and whatever Kevin and Moose' shipname was, very sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 13:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18918349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredemptionarch/pseuds/theredemptionarch





	Everyone is gone

                                              

After the shocking events of Penelope’s so called hunt – the last round of G&G they would hopefully ever play ‒ Archie was having trouble of going back to normal. The others were acting as if things were, but then again, _what was normal in Riverdale_? What was normal to him?

Normal to Archie Andrews was caring about others. Helping them. So he helped Veronica, trying to get her mother out of jail. Helped Betty and Jughead, trying to find Mrs. Cooper.

He made a community center out of the El Royale, just like he had planned to ‒ with a little help from Mad Dog. 

That was normality to him. The only normality he could think of right now.

But as soon as he laid an eye on Kevin in the hallways, said normality vanished right in front of his eyes. Instead, he remembered the boy sitting in the middle of an empty room in the building that had once been the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. Traumatized. Traumatized and alone.

_“They left me.” He’d said, tears in his eyes. “I wanted to go, but they said that someone had to stay behind to explain what happened.”  
_

_“What **did** happen?”, Archie remembered asking. “The worthy ascended, **of course**.”, Kevin had told him and he remembered him sounding so shattered. So ashamed not to be one of them. Not to be one of the worthy.  
_

_Betty next to him was trying to keep calm, but eventually couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “Who did!?”, she inquired urgently. “Where’s my mom? And Polly?”  
_

_“Gone. **Everyone is.** And we’ll never see them again.”  
_

Archie shook his head, trying to get the picture out of his head, as he began to move again, yet before he knew what he was doing he found himself standing in front of the former Sheriff son.

“ _Hey… Kev._ ”, he greeted him, trying to get the other boy to look up from his locker.  

“ _Arch. Hey._ ”, he replied to him, but he surely wasn’t excited to speak to him. That was obvious. It was the first time ever for him to appear in school again after the latest events, but Archie immediately felt regret for not coming to see him any sooner. 

“ _Are you alright?_ ”, he carefully asked, narrowing his eyes to a slit. He was trying not to be intrusive but supportive instead, yet Kevin didn’t reply well to that.

“ _Why wouldn’t I be?_ ”, Kevin snapped back, and even though his words indicated affability, his expression and the tone of his voice could not be any more hostile. Defensive, even.

“ _Dad is making me see a therapist. Three times a week. So I’m fine. No need to worry about me_.”, he assured him, noticing that Archie did not buy his act. Not in the slightest. 

“ _Kevin… Kevin, look, I’m sorry for not talking to you any sooner. I clearly should have_.”

“ _You helped me.”_ he remembered loudly. _“When I decided to look for the Shadow Lake boys. You were there for me. I’m sorry I wasn’t for you. But lemme make it up to you. Right now. Today. Let me be there for you like you’ve been for me. Please, Kev._ ”   

“ _I…_ ”, his counterpart was obviously struggling to find the right words, struggling with the decision if he was ready to let someone, if he was able to let Archie in, or not.

He turned his gaze down, but the redhead was searching for it ‒ hope lighting up in his black pupils when he finally met Kevin’s eyes again.

“ _I’m not okay, Archie. I started taking medicine. I started talking to this therapist. **But I still cannot make sense out of what saw**_.”

“ _And what was that, Kev? What did you see?’“_ , his voice raised, as he was trying his best to understand what the other boy was talking about, yet failed. _“ **What really happened that night?**_ ”

“ _I don’t know. I saw… the others… ascending_.” He was looking into Archie’s eyes as if he was supposed to know what it means, but he quickly realized he needed to elaborate on that. “ _And when I mean ascending, I mean it quite literally. They’ve… **risen up.**_ ”

“ _And then?_ ” 

“ ** _Gone. Vanished._** ”

“ _Was there any sounds before that happened? Anything Edgar could have used to hypnotize you?_ ”

“ _I can hardly remember anything else right now. I can’t tell you. I’m sorry._ ”

Kevin dropped his gaze yet again and it was obvious just how deeply the events had affected him. How worthless and bad he felt about himself. About being the one they left behind. About being unable to understand what had happened right in front of his eyes.

“ _Why me, Archie? I felt so accepted. Loved. I…_ ” Again, he was struggling, but then, all of a sudden, he looked right into Archie’s eyes.

“ ** _I was seeing Joaquin._** ”, he finally admitted. “ _Now I’m alone.”  
_

It took a second for him to finally go on: _“Everyone’s leaving on me, Arch. Joaquin. Moose. Fangs. **I just don’t know what I did wrong.**_ ”

Kevin was tearing up. There was no way for him to dam up his tears and Archie immediately rushed forward and put his arms around him.

_“I’m so sorry, man. You did nothing wrong. You hear me, Kev? Nothing. And I.. we… your friends… are gonna make it okay. **You just have to let us**.”  
_

They parted, and Kevin still had tears in his eyes when he slowly nodded. _“Yeah… Okay. Maybe you’re right.”  
_

_“I am, Kev. **I’m right.** Promise you’ll try?”_

“ _I promise, Archie._ ”, he replied, finally cracking a smile as he blinked his tears away. “ _Thank you._ ” 


End file.
